Monday, November 29, 2010

a)I am Cynthia Merhej. I am from Beirut, Lebanon, and I am currently living in London while I study Illustration at Central Saint Martins.

q)What is it that you do? What media do you use?

a)My work is usually narrative based and has surreal themes. It almost always involves imagery of people. I use all kinds of media, but I prefer to use acrylic paint and bic pens.

q)What do you think sets your work apart?

a)It is an honest expression of who I am.

q)How long have you been showing your work for? Did you have a “big break?”

a)I have been showing my work for a couple of years, and had not had a "big break" yet.

q)What are some things that have inspired you?

a)Some days, everything, other days, nothing.

q)What have you been working on recently?

a)Recently I am working on creating images for the book L'etranger by Albert Camus for a competition.

q)Do you listen to music while you create your work? If so, would you give some examples?

a)Yes, music is a big part of my life and thus influences my work in some way.I am not very pretentious about music, I like to share so I DJ sometimes and make mixes for my friends. Though usually when I work I guess it would have to be something calm like the Velvet Underground or Toro y Moi.

q)Do you do work in any other media? Other projects not necessarily related to your main body of work?

a)My main focus at the moment is my work at college, but besides that I like to play my ukulele and DJ, and when I have the opportunity, to organize shows.

q)What advice do you have for artists looking to show their work?

a)I need some of that advice myself!

q)Do you have any upcoming exhibitions of your work that you can mention?

a)My work is currently in an exhibition in Jordan called "Seams like Art" which will be running at Cafe des Artistes. And I will be showing at a group show called "Inbetween" in East London in February. I will also be featured in a book called Work/Life 2 published by Uppercase publishing in Canada.

a)I like to paint and be spontanious. My recent work is about creating spacial contrast and working with color to create optical effects. I like to be raw with expression and give my images an innocence and playfullness.

q)How long have you been showing your work for? Did you have a “big break?”

a)I have been showing my work for25 years. I think a big break for me was to just have people excited about my work and find interest,

q)What are some things that have inspired you?

a)I have been inspired by many contemporary artists in modern painting. Artist like Nolde, Munch, Miro, Klee, Otto Dix.

I have been also inspired by one author named Itten, Elements of color, From the Bauhaus school in Germany,

He was a master on Color theory. A must read. And studing Kandinsky as an artist.

q)What have you been working on recently?

a)I have been painting acrylic on wood. I have been working with spacial dimension and contrast. I have been working at giving my images an enviorment and world to live in.

q)Do you listen to music while you create your work? If so, would you give some examples?

a)i love to listen to music. My favorites are Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Lush and Aphex Twin. I love ambient minimalist music that is haunting and hipnotic.

q)Do you do work in any other media? Other projects not necessarily related to your main body of work?

a)I work also in ceramic sculpture and watercolor pen and ink.

q)What advice do you have for artists looking to show their work?

a)I would suggest for artists who show their work is to create a large body of work and create a nice portfolio, and not be afraid to be rejected. Just follow your dreams and passions.

q)Do you have any upcoming exhibitions of your work that you can mention?

a)I will show in Washington D.C. this next year and possibly NYC.

q)Do you have any upcoming exhibitions of your work that you can mention?